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4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

W. H. MORGAN.

MORTAR MOUNTING.

,446. Patented July 26, 1892.

.mlllllllll (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. H. MORGAN. MORTAR MOUNTING.

No. 479,446. Patented July 26, 1892.

avwa'ntoz 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

W. H. MORGAN.

V MORTAR MOUNTING. No. 479,446. Patented July 26, 1892.

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W. H. MORGAN.

MORTAR MOUNTING. x No. 479,446. Patented July 26, 1892.

l1 l "mill! lvi bmaoo ea (UM/omen UMTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM II. MORGAN, OF ALLIANCE, OIIIO, ASSIGNOR OF TIIREE-FOURTHS TOTHOMAS R. MORGAN, SR, THOMAS R. MORGAN, .IR, AND JOHN R.

MORGAN, OF SAME PLACE.

MORTAR-MOUNTING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 479,446 dated July 26,1892.

Application filed June 24, 1891.

To on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIA II. MORGAN, of Alliance, in the county ofStark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful 5Improvements in Mortar-llIountings; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

to This invention relates to an improvement in mortar-mountings, and isdesigned more particularly as an improvement on the devices wherein therecoil of the gun forces fluid contained in hydraulic cylinders carriedby the carriage down into a cylinder below the carriage, whereby thecarriage is elevated and the force of energy of the recoil stored forelevating the gun. \Vater being practically incompressible, it will notwhen properly housed yield to pressure, and hence may prove too rigidand unyielding under the first shock of the recoil and before'it beginsto escape from the cylinders carried by the carriage, and to obviatethis objection I provide air-chambers in communication with one of thecylinders into which the fluid can escape from said cylinder under thefirst shock of the recoil.

My invention consists in the parts and combinations of parts, as will bemore fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in section of agun-carriage and gun, showing my improvements in section; and Figs. 2,3, and 4 are views of modified forms.

A represents a carriage normally resting on the flange B of the ring Band provided with upwardly-projecting castings or sections 0, havingmachined slideways in which boxes a, carrying the trunnions of the gun,move. The boxes or are connected to the upper ends of the plungers D,which latter move in cylinders carried by the carriage. These cylindersD are connected by pipes with a cylinderE, located below the carriage,and the water or 5 other fluid as it is acted upon by the movement ofthe plungers, caused by the recoil of the gun, is forced from thecylinders on the carriage into the cylinder under the carriage andthere, acting on the plunger F, operates to 50 elevate the carriage 1'.Now by opening com- Serial No. 397,362. (No model.)

munication between the lower cylinder and the upper cylinders theweightof the carriage, whichis greater than that of the gun, will expelthe liquid from the lower cylinder and forceit into the upper cylinders,thereby permitting the carriage to descend to its normal position, andelevate the gun to its position for firing.

The improvements claimed in this specification relate solely to theconstruction of the lower cylinder and its plunger. In Fig. 1 theplunger F is shown mounted on-a base-plate G which latter is providedwith an opening for the plunger and with an upwardly-projecting bearingor seat concaved on its upper face for the reception of theoutwardly-projecting flange G of plunger F. The lower face of thisflange is convex or curved so as to have a loose fit on the seat of thebaseplate, and thereby accommodate itself to shocks and jars to whichthe carriage is subjected. The plunger F is provided with an enlargedlower end, within which is found an air-chamber a, into which the fluidpassageway I) in plunger F terminates. This fluid passage-way extendsthrough the plunger, and is in open communication with cylinder G,carried by the carriage, and hence it follows that the fluid, as itenters cylinder G and before it begins to elevate said cylinder andcarriage, passes down said fluid passage-way b and into the air-chamber.The fluid passage-way or bore b terminates near the lower end of theair-chamber. Consequently under ordinary conditions the portion ofair-chamber b above the lower end of bore b is an air- '85 space, whilethe lower end or floor of the chamber up to a line with or slightlyabove the bore 1) is constantly filled with the fluid. Thus it will beseen that the instant fluid is forced from the upper cylinders or thecylo inders on the carriage into the lower cylinder by the recoil of thegun the fluid first forced into the lower cylinder operates to compressthe air in the air-chamber, and thus give time for the carriage torecover from the shock. After the air has been compressed to its limitthe fluid then entering naturally elevates the carriage; but themovementis gradual in comparison to what it would he were no provisionmade for increasing the space to receive zoo the fluid first forced intothe lower cylinder.

After the carriage has been. elevated its excess of weight over andabove the gun is utilized in forcing the waterin the lower cyl- 5 inderback into the upper cylinders, thus permitting the carriage to descendand at the same time elevating the gun.

The construction disclosed in Fig. 2 differs from Fig.1 only in makingthe plunger and a base-plate integral, instead of loosely, as in Fig. 1.k

In Fig. 3 I have shown the parts of figure reversed, the plunger in thisinstance being attached to the carriage and the cylinder seated on thebase-plate, so as to accommodate itself to jars ,or shocks of thecarriage. In this construction the cylinder is provided with apreferably circular chamber or cavity d, which is in directcommunication with the cyls inder bya series of passage-ways a Thus itwill be seen that as the fluid enters the cylindel it rises in thepassage-ways a and compresses the air in chamber a. Instead of makingthe base and cylinder of two parts, they can be made integral.

In Fig. i I have shown the cylinder attached to the carriage and anair-chamber in the cylinder, or rather in the carriage, withpassage-ways leading thereto, as in Fig. 3.

I do not claim, broadly, in this specification devices so arranged thattherecoil of the gun forces fluid contained in hydraulic cylinderscarried by the carriage down into a cylinder below the carriage, wherebythe carriage is 5 elevated and the force of energy of the recoil storedfor elevating the gun, but claim the above devices when combined with anair-chamber.

It is evident that numerous changes in this construction and relativearrangement of the several parts might be resorted to Without departingfrom the spirit and scope of my invention. llencc I would have itunderstood that I do not confine myself to the exact construction shownand described, but consider myself at liberty to make such changes asfairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a guncarriage and hydraulic devices thereonadapted to yield under the recoil, of a cylinder and plunger forelevating the carriage, pipes leading from the hydraulic devices on thecarriage to the cylinder below the carriage, and an airchamber in opencommunication with said cylinder, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a gun-carriage and hydraulic devices thereon,adapted to yield under the recoil, of a cylinder and plunger below thecylinder, pipes leading from the hydraulic devices on the carriage tothe cylinder below the carriage, an air-chamber and fluid passage-waysleading from the cylinder below the carriage to the air-chamber,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a gun-carriage and hydraulic devices thereon,adapted to yield under the recoil, of a cylinder below the carriage andconnected thereto and a stationary plunger fitting said cylinder andprovided with an air-chamber and with a bore or passage-way leading fromits inner end to said chamber, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM II. MORGAN.

\Vitnesses:

T. R. L'IORGAN, J12, FRANK E. DUSSEL.

